Bern Airport
| pushpin_label = BRN | r1-length-f = 5,676 | r1-surface = Asphalt | metric-rwy = Yes | name = Bern Airport | image = | image-width = 200 | image2 = Bern Airport Overview in Winter.jpg | IATA = BRN | ICAO = LSZB / LSMB | pushpin_map = Switzerland | pushpin_mapsize = 200 | pushpin_mark = Airplane_silhouette.svg | pushpin_map_caption = Location of the airport in Switzerland | type = Public | owner = | operator = Flughafen Bern AG | city-served = Bern, Switzerland | elevation-f = 1,673 | website = | r1-number = 14/32 | r1-length-m = 1,730 | r2-number = 14L/32R | r2-length-f = 2,133 | r2-length-m = 650 | r2-surface = Grass | stat-year = 2016 | stat1-header = Passengers | stat1-data = 183,319 | stat2-header = | stat2-data = | footnotes = Source: Swiss Aeronautical Information Publication,AIP at EUROCONTROL }} Bern Airport , formerly Regionalflugplatz Bern-Belp in German, is an airport serving Bern, the capital of Switzerland. The airport is located within the town limits of Belp,"Ortsplan ." Town of Belp. Retrieved on 8 December 2010. and features flights to some European metropolitan and several leisure destinations. It handled 183,319 passengers in 2016, a decrease of 3.5 percent over 2015,http://flughafenbern.ch/de/unternehmen/medien-news/medienmitteilungen and serves as the homebase for SkyWork Airlines and a base for Helvetic Airways. History The airport was established in 1929 by Alpar, a private airline that operated within Switzerland until the outbreak of World War II. After the war, Alpar remained in business as the airport's operator, supported by subsidies of the cantonal and city government.Benedikt Meyer: Im Flug. Schweizer Airlines und ihre Passagiere, 1919-2002. Chronos, Zürich 2014, ISBN 978-3-0340-1238-6 A planned expansion of the airport in 1947 did not pass in a popular referendum, and it was not until 1950 that the first concrete airstrip was built. In 2014, Alpar was renamed to Flughafen Bern AG - Bern Airport. Govermental & Military usage The aircraft of the air transport (LTDB) service of the Swiss Air Force are stationed at Bern Airport. These are two jets and two turboprops. Also two EC635 in VIP Configuration and one Superpuma with an air condition (theaircondition Kit can be used on any Superpuma /Cougar of theSwiss Air Force) The former ones are mainly used for VIP transport and particularly the transport of members of the Bundesrat. They are also used for other purposes, for example deportations or to support international peacekeeping measures. The two turboprop DHC-6 Twin Otter and Beechcraft King Air are not usually used for VIP flights, but for the passenger transport as well as for the country's topography service. The Beechcraft 1900 is also used by the country's topography service for the same tasks. The two jets are a Dassault Falcon 900 and a Cessna Citation Excel, which offer up to seats for VIPs. Additionally, Bern Airport serves as the homebase of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation. A base of the air rescue organization Rega is also located at the Airport, using a Eurocopter EC 145. References External links * Official website * * Classification of airports and airfields in Switzerland * Biderhangar website Category:Military airbases in Switzerland Category:Swiss Air Force